[comp.sys.acorn] suggestions

ecwu61@castle.ed.ac.uk (R Renwick) (02/12/91)

In article <1991Feb11.124128.2990@cns.umist.ac.uk> vanaards%t7@uk.ac.man.cs writes:
>
>     There seems to be a trend in these discussions as to what we'd like
>  to see in a new Archimedes machine. Well I'll add to this :
>
>  Presently there is NO way of undeleting a file - this is a MAJOR mistake.
>  If you're in business & you accidently delete your current work file 
>  you've no way of recovering it other that hacking the disk. But with
>  DOS based systems there's no hassle, I've seem many undelete programs.

	Well I ain't ever used an OS that has a built in 'undelete'
facility.  I have seen programs such as undel for MS-DROS and Unix boxes
and Recover for the Archi though.

>  Why place the Econet roms in the machines OS as standard ? How many users
>  actually use Econet. As Acorn consider schools,etc as their main market
>  this may seem good policy - but why not move them off to a podule ?

	Maybe I am just being particularly dense, but what difference
does it make whether the roms are in the machine or on a podule???

>  The MEMC chip needs to be replaced, I believe that the current page size
>  is far too large - this is apparent on UNIX boxes.
>
>  I'd like to see faster screen updates regardless of mode. Now I haven't
>  any sound ideas on how this should be done - perhaps a second bus and
>  screen memory, or a BLITTER chip ?

	Blitter would be nice.

>  I'd like the TASK manager icon to display the Tasks window without having
>  to go through that menu - perhaps by pressing select only. What about a
>  facility of killing modules from the desktop too ?
>
>  Some time ago several modules appeared to change the current directory
>  from the desktop, and display the current directory name alongside the
>  OS prompt. These should be incorporated in the new system.
>
>  A larger string size should be made available to system variables, having
>  a limit to 255 characters for <run$path> tends towards a broad disk
>  heirarchy, either introduce several run$paths, or  increase the limit.
>
>  Group selection of icons within a window would be useful. If you're familiar
>  with the Atari machines you'll know what I mean. Being able to have a rubber
>  banded selection area would make things a lot simpler when operating upon
>  a lot of files.

	Yuch!!!!!!!   Windows 3 on the PC allows you to do this and it
make the overall appearence of the desktop look terrible.  I like to see
the files in nice neat lines and in alphabetical order so I know where
in a window to look for a particular file.

>  What about passing parameters to programs from the desktop. Select a program
>  and using the menu, enter the command line parameters you want to use.

	Surely this is down to the application itself.  ie Pascal and C
compiler front ends allow this.  This shouldn't have anything to do with
the OS.

>  From the few dealers I've been to, they seem to concentrate upon desktop
>  publishing on the Archimedes, perhaps they should be encouraged to promote
>  the business advantages as well. Why use the Archimedes as a DTP machine
>  only, a DOS machine does that, and everyone knows that it's a business
>  machine, thus having everything needed by a prospective business user.

	Have you ever used a PC for DTP?  If you had, I'm sure you would
understand why PC people get excited when they see what the Archi can do.

>  If I have any more ideas I'll send them too.
>
>PS has anyone noticed that if you hold down the SHIFT key, press the CapsLock
>   Key - the light comes on (as expected) but if you then try to turn CapsLock
>   off whilst holding down SHIFT the light doesn't go off !

	This is supposed to happen.  It even happened on the good old
beeb.  The idea is that SHIFT+CAPS means than pressing a key on it's own
give uppercase while SHIFT+key gives lowercase.  This state is reached
as soon as SHIFT+CAPS is pressed regardless of the state of CAPS
beforehand.

Rik


===============================================================================

    ############	Richard Renwick		ecwu61@uk.ac.ed.castle
   #            #	Computer Science 4	OR rlr@uk.ac.ed.lfcs
  @   ~~~  ~~~   @	University of Edinburgh
|\@    **  **    @/|	Edinburgh
| @    **  **    @ |	
|/@      ||      @\|	
  @  \   ||   /  @ 	
   @  \______/  @	"Doesn't the grass look funny from underneath?"
    @          @				- Penfold
     @@@@@@@@@@		

===============================================================================

x51@nikhefh.nikhef.nl (Excursiecommissie) (02/13/91)

In article <8454@castle.ed.ac.uk> ecwu61@castle.ed.ac.uk (R Renwick) writes:
>
>In article <1991Feb11.124128.2990@cns.umist.ac.uk> vanaards%t7@uk.ac.man.cs
 writes:
>>  Presently there is NO way of undeleting a file - this is a MAJOR mistake.
>>  If you're in business & you accidently delete your current work file 
>>  you've no way of recovering it other that hacking the disk. But with
>>  DOS based systems there's no hassle, I've seem many undelete programs.
>
>	Well I ain't ever used an OS that has a built in 'undelete'
>facility.  I have seen programs such as undel for MS-DROS and Unix boxes
>and Recover for the Archi though.

Have you ever used Quick Unerase from the Norton Utilities on a PC or
the Macintosh? This is the way Recover for the Arch should work. No hassle,
just simply recovering your file from a list of recoverable files.
 I sure would like a utility that did that. Sadly I haven't got time 
(and ideas) to implement a thing like that, so I hope there is some
clever programmer out there who will write this for us. :-)
 
>> Group selection of icons within a window would be useful. If you're familiar
>> with the Atari machines you'll know what I mean. Being able to have a rubber
>> banded selection area would make things a lot simpler when operating upon
>> a lot of files.
>
>	Yuch!!!!!!!   Windows 3 on the PC allows you to do this and it
>make the overall appearence of the desktop look terrible.  I like to see
>the files in nice neat lines and in alphabetical order so I know where
>in a window to look for a particular file.

I think you are discussing two different things here, and are forgetting
on which computer it all originated (The Mac) (Ok, the Xerox Star).
I think rubberbanding is a very good idea. On my mac I always group the files
together that belong together, so I can select them all together. I hate it on
my Arc that if I want 17 files from a directory with 40 entries, I have to
click 17 times on different files. I want to do it in one, or a couple of, 
strokes.
About the second thing: I like to group the files like I want to. I want
the wimp to open a directory with only the files visible I find interesting.
Also I want the wimp to open the directory where I last closed it, so you
can make a nice layout of your desktop.

>	Have you ever used a PC for DTP?  If you had, I'm sure you would
>understand why PC people get excited when they see what the Archi can do.

Have you ever used a Mac for DTP? 
I like Impression a lot, but I still use a Macintosh WORD-PROCESSOR for
most of my DTP work.

Axel.
(I have an Arc for programming, and a Mac for serious work because it works).

mathew@mantis.co.uk (mathew) (02/13/91)

ecwu61@castle.ed.ac.uk (R Renwick) writes:
>	Well I ain't ever used an OS that has a built in 'undelete'
>facility.

You've never used a Macintosh?  Never used an Amstrad PCW? Ah, well.

>>  Group selection of icons within a window would be useful. If you're familiar
>>  with the Atari machines you'll know what I mean. Being able to have a rubber
>>  banded selection area would make things a lot simpler when operating upon
>>  a lot of files.
>
>	Yuch!!!!!!!   Windows 3 on the PC allows you to do this and it
>make the overall appearence of the desktop look terrible.  I like to see
>the files in nice neat lines and in alphabetical order so I know where
>in a window to look for a particular file.

That's an entirely separate issue. GEM on the ST allows you to rubber-band
icons; it also lists them in neat lines and in alphabetical order.
You can have your icon and eat it, too.

>>  What about passing parameters to programs from the desktop. Select a program
>>  and using the menu, enter the command line parameters you want to use.
>
>	Surely this is down to the application itself.  ie Pascal and C
>compiler front ends allow this.  This shouldn't have anything to do with
>the OS.

Again, on the ST I can click on a command-line-driven program and the machine
will pop up a little box. I type the parameters, and off it goes. Much nicer
than having to call up that wretched command line interpreter, or having to
learn to use yet another compiler front-end.

>	Have you ever used a PC for DTP?  If you had, I'm sure you would
>understand why PC people get excited when they see what the Archi can do.

If you've used a PC for DTP, almost anything looks exciting :-)


mathew.

ecwu61@castle.ed.ac.uk (R Renwick) (02/14/91)

In article <V3aBX15w163w@mantis.co.uk> mathew@mantis.co.uk (mathew) writes:
>ecwu61@castle.ed.ac.uk (R Renwick) writes:
>>	Well I ain't ever used an OS that has a built in 'undelete'
>>facility.
>
>You've never used a Macintosh?  Never used an Amstrad PCW? Ah, well.

	Well I could never find a pair of binoculars strong enough to
let me read the writing on a mac screen and I could find one with a
radius screen. :-)
	As for using an Amstrad ..........  NEVER >:-)
>
>>>  Group selection of icons within a window would be useful. If you're familiar
>>>  with the Atari machines you'll know what I mean. Being able to have a rubber
>>>  banded selection area would make things a lot simpler when operating upon
>>>  a lot of files.
>>
>>	Yuch!!!!!!!   Windows 3 on the PC allows you to do this and it
>>make the overall appearence of the desktop look terrible.  I like to see
>>the files in nice neat lines and in alphabetical order so I know where
>>in a window to look for a particular file.
>
>That's an entirely separate issue. GEM on the ST allows you to rubber-band
>icons; it also lists them in neat lines and in alphabetical order.
>You can have your icon and eat it, too.
>

	Oops, my mistake!  Sorry!

===============================================================================

    ############	Richard Renwick		ecwu61@uk.ac.ed.castle
   #            #	Computer Science 4	OR rlr@uk.ac.ed.lfcs
  @   ~~~  ~~~   @	University of Edinburgh
|\@    **  **    @/|	Edinburgh
| @    **  **    @ |	
|/@      ||      @\|	
  @  \   ||   /  @ 	
   @  \______/  @	"Doesn't the grass look funny from underneath?"
    @          @				- Penfold
     @@@@@@@@@@		

===============================================================================